The development and validation of the Privacy and Data Security Concerns Scale (PDSCS)

This study describes the development and validation of the Privacy and Data Security Concerns Scale (PDSCS), designed to assess job applicants’ privacy and data security concerns. Validity evidence for the PDSCS was established with four steps including: item generation and content validation, item reduction, confirmatory factor analysis, and construct and criterion validity. Our findings supported the content and proposed factor structure of the nine‐item PDSCS. Specifically, the proposed three‐factor structure (with the subdimensions: Secure connection, inappropriate use of information, and mistrust in employer security practices) as well as a second‐order factor, (termed privacy and data security concerns) were confirmed. Additionally, evidence is presented for the criterion validity of the PDSCS and its subdimensions.     

Pediatric topics in the school psychology literature: publications since 1981

Pediatric topics have potential importance to school psychology given the field's new, broadly conceived definition, reconceptualization of schools as health delivery sites, burgeoning pediatric knowledge with educational implications, and expansion of pediatricians' roles into behavioral realms. This article addresses the rate at which pediatric-related articles were published among school psychology journals (Journal of School Psychology, Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology International, School Psychology Review, and School Psychology Quarterly) from 1981 to 2001. The overall number of such articles increased from 11 during the 1981-1983 interval to more than twice as many during every subsequent 3-year interval. Articles, some reporting empirical findings and others offering reviews or practice suggestions, concerning traditional health conditions and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appeared to be ample. Fewer articles concerned with school psychologists as health care providers and school psychologist-pediatrician collaboration were found. The available literature seems to support school psychologists' widening role definition.     

Global Human Identification and Citizenship: A Review of Psychological Studies

We review psychological research on global human identification and citizenship, Thomas Paine’s belief that “The world is my country, and all mankind are my brethren.” In turn, we review the theoretical foundations that guided our work, research with measures that preceded our own, and our own work with our correlated scales. We review its foundations, its effects upon attitudes and behaviors, and how it might be enlarged. Global human identification and citizenship is related negatively to ethnocentrism, authoritarianism, the social dominance orientation, and self‐centeredness, but positively to dispositional empathy and the values of universalism, care, and justice. It is expressed in attitudes and behaviors that support human rights and work to reduce global suffering and inequalities. It is associated with greater global knowledge and with efforts to acquire that knowledge. Childrearing that emphasizes cross‐cultural exposure and awareness of others’ suffering may promote global human identification and citizenship, as does education that encourages global mindedness. Environments that support global human identification also induce it, as does envisioning it as a moral ideal.     

Valence matters: Positive meta-stereotypes and interethnic interactions

Two experimental studies were conducted that aimed at testing whether the activation of positive meta-stereotypes among high-status group members involved in conflictual relationships with the low-status group is beneficial for intergroup relations. Results revealed that the activation of positive meta-stereotypes led Italian high-school students (high-status group) to anticipate greater enjoyment of an upcoming interaction with an African immigrant (low-status group) by increasing positive feelings about contact and concerns about being accepted. Initial prejudice emerged as the moderator, with the effects of positive meta-stereotypes present among those with average- to high-levels of prejudice. This study represents the first experimental demonstration that positive meta-stereotypes have beneficial effects for intergroup relations among high-status members. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Associations between lower order anxiety sensitivity dimensions and DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a well-established individual difference variable reflecting a tendency to fear bodily sensations associated with arousal, has been implicated in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite these associations, little research has examined the relations between AS subfactors (eg physical, cognitive, and social) and PTSD symptoms and none have examined these associations in the context of DSM-5 (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) PTSD clusters (ie intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions/mood, and arousal). Participants included 50 veterans presenting to an outpatient Veteran Affairs Clinic for psychological services. Upon intake, veterans completed a brief battery of self-report questionnaires to assist with differential diagnosis and treatment planning. Results revealed unique associations between lower order AS dimensions, in particular the cognitive concerns dimension, and all four DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters. Given the malleable nature of AS cognitive concerns, as well as the growing number of veterans in need of care, future research should determine the extent to which targeting this cognitive risk factor reduces PTSD symptom severity among veterans.     

The difference between punishments and rewards in fostering moral concerns in social decision making

In social decision making, punishing non-cooperation and rewarding cooperation may not only affect cooperation because of instrumental reasons. They may also evoke moral concerns regarding cooperation as they signal that cooperation is socially approved of and non-cooperation socially disapproved of. I argue that punishments do this to a greater extent than rewards as punishments communicate an obligatory rule and rewards communicate a voluntary rule. Indeed, the first experiment shows that, in a social dilemma, the concept of punishment increased cooperation and the concept of a reward did not. The second experiment showed that participants showed more disapproval towards an offender when there was a punishment for non-compliance than when there was a reward for compliance. These findings suggest that punishing non-cooperation more strongly foster moral concerns regarding cooperation than rewarding cooperation. Possible implications for internalizations are discussed.     

Evaluative Concerns and Personal Standards Perfectionism: Self-esteem as a Mediator and Moderator of Relations with Personal and Academic Needs and Estimated GPA

We examined the mediational role of self-esteem in the relation between evaluative concerns (EC) and personal standards (PS) perfectionism, and measures of personal concerns, academic concerns, and estimated grade point average (EGPA) in 386 university students. Self-esteem partially mediated the relation between EC perfectionism and students’ personal and academic concerns. EC perfectionism was a weak predictor of EGPA. PS perfectionism was not related to academic concerns. Although PS was associated with personal concerns both directly and indirectly through low levels of self-esteem in women only, these findings did not hold when controlling for EC perfectionism. PS perfectionism had a direct positive relation with EGPA. Neither PS nor EC perfectionism interacted with self-esteem to predict unique variance in personal or academic concerns or EGPA. The results are consistent with our view that a perfectionism dimension that is primarily maladaptive can be distinguished from a dimension that can be adaptive. The implications for research and treatment are considered.

The dark side of Instagram: Predictor model of dysmorphic concerns

Background/ObjectiveDysmorphic concern are excessive preoccupation about one or several physical characteristics perceived as defects, usually unnoticeable by others. This study was intended to explore the relationship between Instagram use and dysmorphic concerns through appearance-related comparisons, ideas of reference and problems with emotion regulation, and find out whether this relationship is moderated by gender. Method: The sample was comprised of 796 participants (M_age = 22.49; SD = 3.56; 54% women). Results: The results showed a non-significant direct effect between Instagram use and dysmorphic concerns. However, the relationship between these variables was statistically significant through appearance-related comparisons, ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and difficulties in emotion regulation. Gender did not moderate any relationship. Conclusions: Men and women who made the most use of Instagram were equally vulnerable to dysmorphic concerns when they tended to compare their appearance with other users, had problems regulating their emotions, and showed interpretative biases related to the belief that others could make comments about them or laugh at them because of their imperfections. The implications of the study are discussed.     

Perceived control,depressive symptomatology,and professional burnout: A review of the evidence

This article examines the extent to which self-reported emotional eating is a predictor of unhealthy snack consumption or, alternatively, an expression of beliefs about the relation between emotions and eating derived from concerns about eating behaviour. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 (N = 151) and Study 2 (N = 184) investigated the predictive validity of emotional eating compared to habit strength in snack consumption, employing 7-day snack diaries. Both studies demonstrated that snack consumption was not predicted by emotional eating but depended on the habit of unhealthy snacking and on restraint eating. As emotional eating was not a significant predictor of snack intake, Study 3 addressed the alternative hypothesis of emotional eating being an expression of concerns about eating behaviour. Results from this cross-sectional survey (N = 134) showed that emotional eating was significantly associated with several concerns. Together, these studies show that snack intake is better predicted by habit strength and restraint eating than by emotional eating. Additionally, the results suggest that in normal-weight women the concept of emotional eating may not capture the tendency to eat under emotional conditions, but rather reflects beliefs about the relation between emotions and eating.